


And the Axe Shall Fall

by soprano_buddy15



Category: The Last Kingdom, The Last Kingdom (TV), The Warrior Chronicles | The Saxon Stories - Bernard Cornwell
Genre: Doubt, Episodes 3 and 4, This whole thing bothered me a lot, Trust, season 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:13:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24601399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soprano_buddy15/pseuds/soprano_buddy15
Summary: SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4Sihtric’s perspective on when Uhtred orders them to take Young Cnut and Esgar from Haesten.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 26





	And the Axe Shall Fall

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Java_Blythe_Peralta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Java_Blythe_Peralta/gifts).



> Hello my lovelies!
> 
> So… I’m not entirely sure why I wrote this, but this whole arc really bothered me when watching the show and I guess I wanted to explore Sihtric’s perspective on this. I read an interview with Arnas Fedaravičius where he explained that sometimes Uhtred does things in season 4 that make you go, “Who’s the good guy here?” and I wanted to see explore that a little bit more!
> 
> This is also dedicated to my beautiful, lovely, incredible friend Java_Blythe_Peralta for her patience as I teased this one to her for like 2 days straight. Bless. 
> 
> A huge chunk of this work is straight from episode 4, so kudos to the writers because they are amazing. 
> 
> Anyway, constructive comments are always welcome! Just don’t be rude, because nobody wants that.

“Tie them up.”

Inhaling sharply, Sihtric shared a look with Finan as their lord spoke the order. He could tell that Finan mirrored his own worry. Uhtred had a dangerous look in his eyes as he studied the boys. 

Sihtric knew that Uhtred had a tendency to… act rashly when insulted or upset. He had grown quite a bit since Sihtric had first sworn himself to Uhtred; they all had, but sometimes things happened and Uhtred would act and deal with the consequences later. 

Cnut’s sons had his bright red hair, and they eyed him and Finan warily as they walked over to them. They soon realized what was going to happen, and Sihtric lunged as one of them darted to the side. He grabbed the boy around the middle, pinning his arms to the sides. Sihtric looked up as he heard Finan yell, then easily disarm the other boy, his small knife falling to the ground. 

The boy Sihtric was holding continued to squirm and yell to be let go, but Sihtric held him until Osferth brought the rope to tie their hands together. “Stop moving,” he whispered into the young boys ear. “I don’t want to pull the rope too tight. You will be okay.” The boy stopped, but continued to glare at him as his wrists were brought together. 

“Do you have any idea what he’s doing?” Osferth whispered as Sihtric wrapped the rope around the wrists. Sihtric finished off the knot, checking to make sure that it was not too tight. 

“I don’t like this as much as you do, Osferth,” he whispered back, and then ushered the boy towards their horses. Finan had the other one, and he was almost shaking. With fear or rage, Sihtric did not know. 

Uhtred had already mounted his horse, and Sihtric knew that he was thinking and calculating. It frustrated him immensely at how impulsive Uhtred was, and how he thought with his heart and not his head sometimes. 

Young Uhtred opened his mouth to protest, but Finan knocked him in the shoulder before he could get a word out. “Aye, don’t you start.” Finan said, and then lifted the boy onto his horse before mounting behind him. 

Sihtric did the same. As he settled in behind him, he heard the boy whisper. “What are you going to do with us?” He asked. The boy was not much younger than Sihtric’s own son, and his heart went out to him. 

Sihtric urged his horse forward and they moved out of the camp and onto the road to Aegelesburg. “I am called Sihtric. I will not hurt you,” he responded quietly. “Just cooperate, and you will be okay.”

The boy in front of him sat quietly for the entire journey, choosing silence rather than pettiness, like Finan’s was doing. He was constantly causing grief for the man, digging his elbows into Finan’s gut and knocking his head into Finan’s chin. 

After a particularly hard knock from the boy, Finan was left rubbing his chin ruefully and muttering curses in Gaelic. Sihtric heard a small giggle come from the boy in front of him as the other one smirked proudly. 

“Finan is not used to being around young boys, particularly Danish ones such as yourself. It frightens him.” Sihtric muttered to the one in front of him, grinning. 

The boy let out a more audible giggle, causing Finan to look over and glare at them. Sihtric smiled sweetly back at him, and Finan somehow narrowed his eyes even further. 

“Stop laughing,” the other boy hissed at the one on Sihtric’s horse, and the giggling stopped abruptly. 

“What do we call you?” Finan asked, nudging the one in front of him. “I know one of you is called Cnut.” He sat back and thought for a moment. “I suppose we can call one of you Cnut and the other Not-Cnut.” He coughed as the boy dug his elbow back into his gut again. 

Sihtric recalled how the boy with Finan had almost commanded the other to stop laughing. “I take it you are Not-Cnut?” He asked the one in front of him.

“Do not answer that!” The other yelled across at them, and it even caused Uhtred to glance back at them, eyebrows raised. He had been at the front by himself, Young Uhtred and Osferth following behind him. The rest of Uhtred’s men that had survived Bebbanburg and the boat followed Sihtric and Finan. 

“Cnut, it does not matter anymore.” The boy in front of Finan finally spoke out. “We did not do what Da and Brida told us. We failed.”

“Esgar!” Cnut hissed at him.

Esgar fell silent again, and after a moment Sihtric nudged him. “You can stand up to your brother,” he said. “You might not be Cnut Cnutson, but you are still Esgar Cnutson.”

“We stop here for the night,” Uhtred announced as they came upon a small clearing. Sihtric chuckled as Finan muttered prayers of thanks to his God.

He slid off the horse and pulled Esgar down, holding him up a moment as he found his legs again. Sihtric supposed that Esgar had never ridden that far before, and waited until he was standing confidently before herding him with his brother. Finan led them to one of the larger rocks and called one of the other men over to watch them. 

“We need to talk to Uhtred,” Finan said to Sihtric and Osferth as he came up. Sihtric noticed how tense Finan was by the way his jaw was clenched. 

“I am not confident with this,” Osferth muttered to them. He was fiddling with his wooden crucifix, and his eyes were trained on the boys. “They are innocents.”

Sihtric nodded. “They should never have been taken. I fear Uhtred has gone too far.”

Finan knocked Sihtric’s shoulder. “I don’t like this either, but we need to trust Uhtred.” Even as he was talking, Sihtric knew that he was fighting a great battle within himself. “I’ll go talk to him.” He muttered under his breath, and went to talk to their lord.

As Finan and Uhtred were talking, Sihtric watched Cnut and Esgar out of the corner of his eye. They seemed to be in a silent battle, continually glancing up at Sihtric, or Finan and Uhtred, and eventually Cnut rolled his eyes and turned away from Esgar. 

“What did Esgar mean by ‘we failed?’” Asked Osferth, hand on his chin. 

“I’d imagine they failed in killing themselves.” Sihtric replied. “Kjartan did the same thing with Sven. Better to die and go to Valhalla than be taken by the enemy.” He remembered watching Kjartan explain it to Sven, and he remembered wondering when he would be given a knife. It had not taken long for him to realize that Kjartan could care less on whether Sihtric was taken by his enemies. 

Osferth furrowed his brow at that, as Sihtric knew he would. He understood their hesitancy for killing themselves, as whenever he told his mother that another lord died by his own hand, she would scold him and tell him to never take a knife to his heart. It was a promise he had made, but it was one promise to her that he was never sure if he could keep.

Finan came back over to them, biting his lip. “Uhtred still doesn’t have a plan.” Osferth sighed in frustration. 

“What of the boys?” Sihtric asked. 

“Uhtred said that they would not be harmed,” said Finan. “But I’m unsure if he will remember that at a later time.” He clapped Sihtric on the shoulder. “You have first watch tonight.” 

*****

The fire was burning low, so Sihtric threw another log in. He was exhausted, but still had a few more hours before it would be Finan’s turn. 

Esgar had rolled off to sleep immediately, but Cnut had stubbornly stayed up until exhaustion claimed him. 

Glancing over towards the woods, Sihtric checked to make sure that there weren’t any men hiding in the bushes. Stifling a yawn, he pulled out the small knife he keeps tucked in his boot and started to clean under his nails, grimacing at the dirt and grime that came out. 

“What are you going to do to us?”

Sihtric glanced up, and was struck again by how small Esgar was. He was sitting up, pulling his cloak tighter around his shoulders, and was studying Sihtric. 

Sihtric examined his nails before putting his knife away. “You will not be harmed,” he said again. “I am not sure about everything that is to come, but you will not be harmed.” He took in Esgar’s curls and chuckled. “You remind me of my own son. He is not much older than you.”

Something softened in Esgar’s eyes as he met Sihtric’s gaze. “That must be why you are kinder than Haesten.” He said softly, almost to himself. 

At that, Sihtric turned his full attention to the boy. “What do you mean?”

Esgar shifted uncomfortably. “He always gave us whatever his men were finished eating. And we would only have our cloaks, away from the fire.”

His hatred for Haesten ever growing, Sihtric reached over and grabbed the roasting spit from where it was resting. “Are you still hungry?” He asked, and Esgar nodded slightly. He passed it over to Esgar, who took it gratefully and began picking it clean. “Did we not feed you enough?”

Esgar shrugged. “It was more than Haesten would ever give us, but Cnut does not want to cooperate with you.” 

“You could have said something.” Sihtric took the stick back from him and passed him a water skein. 

Esgar took a long drink, wiping his lips as he passed it back. “Cnut would not let me.”

Sihtric rolled his eyes at that. “You are not under Cnut’s command. Right now, you two boys are the hostages of Uhtred of Bebbanburg. You eat when you are hungry.”

Esgar smiled softly, and then tried to hide a yawn. “Get to sleep,” said Sihtric. “We ride to Aegelsburg tomorrow.” 

Esgar curled up beside his brother, and Sihtric watched the moon climb higher in the night sky as the sounds of sleep grew around him.

******

“WHAT ARE WE DOING LORD?” Grimacing as the Danes continued to batter against the door to the hall, Sihtric tried to jam his shoulder against the wood, calling back at Uhtred. “THE DOOR WILL NOT HOLD!”

He could faintly hear Aethelflaed and Uhtred having an argument and Finan trying to urge them to hurry it up. 

“SIHTRIC!” Finan yelled at him and he ran down the hall towards him, leaving the other men to hold the door. Uhtred and Aethelflaed were still arguing as he got closer to them.

“What’s happening?” 

“Grab the boys and bring them to the balcony.” Uhtred examined the bodies of the young ealdormen, before choosing one out of the middle. He hoisted it up, and Sihtric felt his stomach drop. 

“You are harming them?” Sihtric accused, and Uhtred paused for just a moment. He turned towards Sihtric.

“Sihtric, you must trust me on this.” Sihtric stared into Uhtred’s eyes, and the clearness and confidence in his gaze made Sihtric nod his head shortly. 

Cnut and Esgar were watching them warily. Sihtric could see the hurt in Esgar’s eyes as he took Cnut and Finan grabbed Esgar. The boy started twisting in Finan’s hands, and Cnut was doing his very best to knock his head into Sihtric’s nose.

“Bring them!” Uhtred yelled, climbing up the stairs towards the outer balcony. Heart heavy, Sihtric mimicked Finan and pulled out his seax, holding it up against Cnut’s throat. Both boys stopped fighting, but every few moments a whimper escaped from their lips. 

They stepped out on the balcony, Cnut’s man screaming furiously at the door. “Enough!” Uhtred yelled, and the Danes held their position. Uhtred cautiously moved towards the edge, wary of any arrows that somehow would find their way towards them. “Come and face me,” he called. “I have Cnut’s sons.”

“You are lying,” the dark haired Dane called back.

Heart pounding, Sihtric brought Cnut forward, Finan doing the same with Esgar beside him. The boys started whimpering, and suddenly Sihtric realized that this was all very real. 

“Leave this place or I will cut their throats!”

“Take a son of Cnut,” the Dane threatened, “every Dane in this land will see it avenged!”

“Yes,” Uhtred goaded. “And every Dane will come for you, too. The blood of his child will be on your hands.”

The Dane stepped forward at that, and Sihtric could clearly see the panic grow in his face. “Send them down now, or all the men here will be killed.”

“Leave this place or I will cut off their heads!”

“You harm them and every Saxon here dies!”

Sihtric glanced at Uhtred, meeting his gaze. Uhtred simply raised an eyebrow and Cnut began to squirm even more. 

Uhtred brought his hand up to the base of Cnut’s neck, and Sihtric helped him push him down to the floor.

Esgar began shouting for his brother, and Sihtric kept Cnut pinned on the ground as Uhtred grabbed his axe. 

Cnut’s eyes widened as he saw the axe, screaming and crying as Uhtred brought the axe up, and then brought it down into the deck as Sihtric covered Cnut’s mouth with his hand. The boy lay still, his eyes were shining with tears, but Sihtric kept his seax to the boys head. “You will not be harmed,” he whispered to him as Uhtred tossed one of the bodies of the dead children over the wall. 

“No!” Sihtric heard Esgar scream, but he kept his seax on Cnut’s neck. “No!”

“Leave!” Uhtred bellowed. “Or I will kill the other one also!” He heard the Dane below them call for his men to leave.

Esgar was still crying as Finan moved him away from the edge. “Stay down,” he said. “Look, your brother’s still alive.”

Esgar clutched Cnut’s tunic and held him tight. After Uhtred gave him a nod, he released Cnut’s mouth and let the two sit up and hug each other. 

Sihtric tucked his seax back into its sheath, and shared a look with Finan. They had come awfully close to doing exactly what the Danes would have done. 

******

“Cut them free and let them run.” Uhtred motioned his head towards the boys as they stood on the balcony. “They’ve served their purpose. Sihtric nodded, handing his horse’s reins to Finan as before turning and walking towards them

Cnut was seething with rage as he pulled their hands out and started untying the knot. Esgar watched him with distrustful eyes. “You said you weren’t going to hurt us.”

“And we didn’t.” Sihtric dropped the rope as Cnut scurried off, and started working on Esgar’s bindings. “If you had been Lord Uhtred’s children and taken by your father, you would not be granted the same mercy.” He looked at Esgar sharply. “You run,” he said softly. “You run, and you keep on running until you can run no further.” He pressed a silver coin into Esgar’s hand. “Go.”

Esgar hurried off after his brother. Cnut was running as fast as he could past the horses and out of the gates. Sihtric did not know what was going to happen to them; he could only hope that they would find a Danish settlement to take them in, for he was sure that come battle, their father would be killed. 

He mounted his horse and sent a prayer up to the gods that the boys would be alright, allowing himself a moment to think on what had just happened. Shaking his head, he cleared his thoughts of the boys and prepared himself for battle.


End file.
